text:
Among the lineage of Goichi Suda titles, the notorious ‘Suda51’ in recent years has shipped out re-releases of his previous work. Namely, the first two No More Heroes titles returned with Nintendo Switch ports in fall 2020 followed by PC later on in summer 2021. Additionally, publisher NIS announced that The Silver Case 2425 will be resurfacing on the Nintendo eShop as well.
Looking forward, Suda in one statement has referenced the cult-followed Lollipop Chainsaw to be making a return in some form; likely a re-release. Especially since the game was delisted on Xbox 360 gaining no window for backwards compatibility support, it is saddening to realize. Suda in a more recent statement told older IPs are on the horizon for the developer’s plans for the coming decade.
In a new announcement from Dragami Game, it reveals Lollipop Chainsaw is to receive a remake come 2023. CEO Yoshimi Yasuda posted a letterhead on the matter via Twitter which you can read below:
“We, the original development staff on Lollipop Chainsaw, think of the game as very precious to us, and did not want to leave it in limbo, where players who want to play it cannot. As such, we purchased the Lollipop Chainsaw intellectual property from Kadokawa Games, and decided to develop a remake,” Yasuda shares.
“We have already contacted Warner Bros. about development, and are being support by them on this endeavor. One thing we have to tell fans of the original game is that even though the original team are working on the remake, there will be elements that are different from the original.” Yasuda goes on to note licensed music will be swapped out for new tracks and the project will take advantage of the newer hardware it is releasing on.
What are you most excited for Lollipop Chainsaw officially returning?


text:
The best Black Friday deals for 2021
Like Halloween, Black Friday began life as a single day after Thanksgiving in the United States.
The Friday was a chance for retailers to encourage consumers, most of whom had the day off with family, to kick start the holiday season with a spending spree, lured by bargain prices on a range of items. In the early, pre-internet shopping days it was a way to attract footfall to shopping malls and stores.
What started across the Atlantic in the late 1980s came to the UK with Amazon, but the discounting truly took hold in 2013 when Asda launched a Black Friday sale that led to brawls over cut-price flatscreen TVs.
Today, Black Friday has become a week-long event with shoppers expected to spend £9.18 billion

domain: news


text:
If you’ve got Adobe Creative Suite 5.5 Design Premium or Master Collection installed on your system, you may have noticed the updater has fired up to let you know something is new. The company today released updates to Adobe Flash Builder and AIR to enable the promised functionality for designing iOS and BlackBerry PlayBook apps in addition to Android.
Well, would you look at that: Those big kids in the mobile phone playground can play nice together after all, especially when cash money is in play. After nearly two years, the patent disputes between Apple and Nokia have come to a close, with Cupertino throwing a pile of money at the problem to make it go away.
After waiting around for three days for my modest library of music (2,047 songs to be exact) to finally upload to Google's servers, I got a chance to really try out Google Music Beta and see if it's going to be something worth using. In theory, the concept is quite enticing: a cloud-based service that enables audiophiles to access their music virtually anywhere. However, its execution is a little messy. To be fair, it is still in beta, but there are some areas where Google Music could really use some improvement, and some that they do just fine.
As predicted, there was no new iPhone announced at WWDC this year, lending further credence to rumors that Apple plans to move introduction of the next model to September to coincide with iOS 5 -- a move that is likely to give Android competitors like HTC a chance to eclipse Cupertino’s lead in the U.S. smartphone market.
Now that Apple has finally played its hand with iCloud at this year’s WWDC keynote, we’ve finally seen the best and brightest of what the major players plan to bring to their streaming music services. One of them, Music Beta by Google, is still an intriguing option -- one you get past the hours of uploading necessary to enjoy it in the first place.
During the keynote this morning, I couldn't help but think that Apple's new notification system sounded strinkingly familiar. Android users have already been swiping down for notifications for quite some time now, and while the notifications panel is very bare bones, the Android market is chock full of widgets that display the weather, your email and calendar updates, and more.
Former Google CEO (and former Apple board member) Eric Schmidt was first in the hot seat Tuesday night at the ninth annual AllThingsD conference, which was streamed live for the first time. Amidst a lot of Google talk was quite a bit of chatter about Apple, including a recommendation from Schmidt himself to get a Mac.
Once king of the smartphone world, Research in Motion's BlackBerry has steadily fallen behind Apple's iPhone and Google's Android operating system. RIM investors are also growing steadily unhappy about this, and may start calling for changes soon within the company, starting at the top.
If you can’t beat ‘em, get crazy with ‘em -- that seems to be the philosophy of ASUS, the maker of inexpensive netbooks and now iPad-challenging tablets such as the sold-out everywhere Eee Pad Transformer. On Monday, the company announced their craziest tablet product yet.


text:
Sports Apparel Sales Show Women Are in a League of Their Ownby Robert McAllister, Technology Editor
February 08, 2008
The licensed-apparel business is no longer a man’s world when it comes to team-sports gear.
Women are among the fastest-growing segment of the customer base, and it showed during the recent Super Bowl, where women made up 20 percent of all sales of jerseys,T-shirts, bags and other items. According to the National Football League, about $125 million in merchandisewill change hands before all the post-game purchases are made, which is on track to break a 10-year-old record. Women’s NFL merchandise has been growing at double-digit percentages for the past five years, according to the league.
One of the strongest points of sale has been the Internet, where companies such as Los Angeles–based Shopzilla (www.shopzilla.com) are among the leaders. According to New York– based Scarborough Research, sports-logo apparel shopped for by women on the Internet grew from 42 percent in 2003 to 46 percent in 2007. The female fan base has doubled over the past five years in metropolitan markets such as Boston, according to Scarborough.
Manish Chandra, founder of Sunnyvale, Calif.–based Kaboodle (www.kaboodle.com) has seen more referals for such products appear on his shopping networking site.
And it’s not just the Super Bowl they are interested in. Women also are taking a bigger stake in products from Major League Baseball, the NBA and NASCAR. Marketers point to the fact that more females are participating in sports as a key reason for the growing fan base. According to the Sporting Goods Manufacturing Association, the number of girls participating in varsity sports in high school has grown by 60 percent over the past 16 years.
Canton, Mass.–based Reebok International Ltd. helped push the category a couple of years ago by designing NFL jerseys for women in pink and baby blue and feminine cuts. For the first time in history, women’s NFL jerseys were ranking among the top five NFL merchandise items.
Women have sought to fill the void for years. In the past they were forced to buy boys’ sizes of NFL jerseys and sometimes crop and shape them to make them more feminine.
Pasadena, Calif.–based designer Betsy Hoyt Stevens saw it coming a few years ago. Being a Los Angeles Lakers season ticket holder, she couldn’t find much femalefriendly Lakers merchandise, so she designed a purple Lakers belt embellished with Swarovski crystals. After wearing it to some games, she was bombarded with inquiries. Even competing teams such as the Phoenix Suns and L.A. Clippers were interested in them for players’ and owners’ wives, so Stevens made some more and eventually launched her company, B...for Betsy, featuring headbands, bags, shirts, scarves and other items bearing the emblems of pro sports teams.
“If you ask retailers like JCPenney and Sears what their fastest-growing categories are, they will say it’s pro-sports logoed apparel. It’s been growing every year for 10 years, with not one down year in that time,” she said.
Stevens sells her products through her Web site (www.bforbetsy.com), her Pasadena store and direct to stadiums and sports shops. She hasn’t even begun marketing to ready-to-wear boutiques.
“The NFL products are doing real well. We’ve only started Major League Baseball and expect some big business out of that, too,” she said.
Stevens sells cashmere scarves for about $75 on her e-commerce site and logo belts for $60. Among the most popular items are rhinestone headbands for $20.
Actress Alyssa Milano got started in a similar way. She is a longtime L.A. Dodgers fan and couldn’t find “cute” items at the ball park, so she eventually produced her own designs for New York–based G-III Apparel, featuring baseball jerseys for women.
Another growing area is auto racing. Anita Corter of Orange County, Calif., launched Behind The Wall Racing Apparel (www.btwracingapparel.com), a shirt company catering to NASCAR’s female fans.
“I didn’t like the shirts at the races. They were like concert crew T-shirts, built for men with straight bodies. I have curves,” she said. She and her husband launched the company in 2006, featuring baby-doll tees, tanks and hoodies with racing-related slogans. She plans to expand into other race categories such as CART and NHRA.
Los Angeles–based JH Design has been among the leading suppliers of NASCAR jackets for women.
Breaking into the team-sports area is not simple, Stevens said. Suppliers are required to negotiate with the leagues, which share royalties.
“Every deal is different,” she said. “I got in at the right time.”
Market leaders such as Nike, Adidas, Reebok and Majestic Apparel have locks on the large contracts with the leagues, but there is a lot of periphery business to be had, she added.


text:
Recall Wordle? The five-letter word guessing game that for months had everyone focusing on green and yellow squares? You might have thought the straightforward puzzle game would ultimately lose popularity like other internet fads, especially when The New York Times bought it. Even while the craze has partly subsided, Wordle is still enjoyed by many people all across the world, and NYT has just made it somewhat simpler to access the daily game.
If you wish to use Wordle on the New York Times Crossword app, you must pay a membership fee. Those who wish to play the game for free can do so on the New York Times website, which can be accessed via any mobile, desktop, or laptop browser.
The newspaper purchased Wordle in January 2022, when it also guaranteed gamers that the game would remain free. Users may be concerned about the addition of Wordle to the Crossword app, which was previously a subscription-based platform, but the game remains free on the site for the time being.
In May, the New York Times said that the game had drawn “unprecedented tens of millions of new users to The Times,” resulting in the company’s best-ever quarter for new subscription additions to its games. The game is now free, although it does include subtle advertisements for its other games, such as Spelling Bee.


text:
🔥 Breaking — It has been close to just one year since the launch of next-generation Wi-Fi security standard WPA3 and researchers have unveiled several serious vulnerabilities in the wireless security protocol that could allow attackers to recover the password of the Wi-Fi network.
WPA, or Wi-Fi Protected Access, is a standard designed to authenticate wireless devices using the Advanced
Posted in hack wifi password, hack WPA2 WiFi Password, hacking news, how to hack wifi, How To Hack WIFI Password, Vulnerability, wireless security, WPA3 Protocol, WPA3 Security Protocol, WPA3 Wireless Security | Comments (0)
Windows 10 users don't have to wait much longer for the support of latest WPA3 Wi-Fi security standard, a new blog post from Microsoft apparently revealed.
The third version of Wi-Fi Protected Access, in-short WPA3, is the next generation of the wireless security protocol that has been designed to make it harder for attackers to hack WiFi password.
WPA3 was officially launched earlier this
Posted in wifi hacking software, wifi security, Windows 10, Windows 10 Insider Preview Build, WPA password cracking, WPA3, WPA3 Security Protocol, WPA3 Wireless Security | Comments (0)


text:
Governments across the world are increasingly finding the need to protect consumer data from misuse by businesses. Have you heard about the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) of 2018?
CCPA is similar to the famous European Union’s GDPR, but there are variations in the definitions and the underlying rules. Let’s get familiar with the CCPA requirements and what it means for your small business.
What Is CCPA?
CCPA is a law passed in 2018 in the U.S. state of California to protect the data and privacy of consumers. It came into force on January 1, 2020, requiring businesses to implement more stringent policies and procedures to safeguard consumer personal information.
The act gives the residents of California the power to view, restrict the use, and delete data that for-profit organizations collect about them. They can also sue, should a data breach that compromises their information occur.
Under the CCPA, consumers:
- Have a right to know the data collection and sharing practices by businesses
- Reserve the right to deny the sharing or sale of their data
- Can request companies to delete their data
- Under 16 must opt-in before enterprises can sell their information
- Have a right to know which third-parties use their data, and where they acquire it
- Can take legal action if a breach compromises their information
Some of the areas that businesses have to strengthen are privacy policies, security protections, and the facilitation of consumer rights. Companies handling personal data belonging to at least 4 million consumers will need advanced recordkeeping.
What Inspired CCPA?
The Congress noted that personal information on the internet is vulnerable to exploitation by third-parties following the alleged misuse of data by Cambridge Analytica in 2018. Cambridge Analytica had harvested data from Facebook profiles of millions of people and used it for political advertising without owners’ consent.
With Facebook and other tech giants headquartered in Silicon Valley, California saw a need to heighten privacy controls and transparency for third-parties when handling data. The Federal government, as well as several other states, are considering imposing similar privacy and data protection regulations.
Which Businesses Does the CCPA Affect?
CCPA affects businesses which in a year, generate $25 million in gross revenue, sell 50,000 consumer records, or earn 50 percent of their income from the sale of consumer data. Included are businesses that collect and sell personal information from Californian consumers while located elsewhere.
So, do small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) need CCPA compliance? Firms running under others that meet the above conditions and share branding with them must comply.
If your small business doesn’t meet the criteria, you could be safe for now. But who knows when you’ll hit the 50,000 consumer information usage threshold? Again, CCPA is still young, and there’s room for more amendments. It’s better to stay compliant to avoid frustration in the future.
Penalty for Non-compliance
CCPA has left some organizations confused, and some might find themselves in violation of the law due to unawareness. Some aren’t sure whether they are subject to the regulation or what to do to become compliant.
The California Attorney General is responsible for enforcing the CPAA. Prosecution for non-compliance begins in July 2020. The penalties will be quite significant, and they might leave some companies in dire financial situations.
Disgruntled consumers can sue individually or as a group, but only when a business fails to put reasonable security measures leading to the access, disclosure, or theft of their information. For intentional violations, fines will be about $7,500 for each instance. However, there will be a 30-day window to solve the alleged violations after getting notified about your non-compliance.
How to Address CCPA
Going forward, you have to meet the latest CCPA regulations to protect consumer privacy if your business is subject to CCPA. You must notify consumers about the categories of personal information you intend to collect on or before data collection. You also have to indicate how you’ll use the information.
Businesses need to set up procedures to respond to consumer requests to know, opt-out, and delete personal data. For customers to opt-out easier, business websites and apps require a “Do Not Sell My Info” link.
Covered organizations must respond to various consumer requests within specific timeframes. Under the privacy settings, a customer’s choice to opt-out should come out as a valid opt-out request.
Additionally, businesses must verify the identity of individuals asking to know or delete their personal information. This condition prevails whether the consumer has an account with the firm or not. If you cannot verify a request, you must comply with it to your level-best.
Businesses may offer incentives, including monetary payments to consumers for the collection and use of their personal information. Covered entities must keep a record of consumer requests and how they handled them over the past 24 months.
CCPA puts a stop to businesses harvesting consumer information and exploiting it without the consent of owners. Though the wave has begun in California, it will affect businesses across the United States and the rest of the world. Become CCPA compliant today to avoid legal issues.


text:
We have recently told you about how the colored diamonds are getting popular with the collectors and investors. And, the latest in colored diamonds are 2 most expensive pink diamonds. A bubble gum-color pink diamond worth $2.5 million is all set to make its first appearance at the Birks Jewelry stone in Edmonton. It’s the shining star of the collection that includes 45 precious stones and jewelry pieces. As of now, the pricey collection is slated to move across the nation- unless it finds a customer. Getting a small glimpse of the pink diamond, it seems, won’t be as easy said as done. According to Birks sources, potential buyers have got their bookings placed already. Yes, you heard that right. It requires an appointment to see the pink ring at Birks! Read on to know why.
Pink diamonds are available in a plethora of shades, the Birks spokesperson further added. What then sets the Bubble gum diamond apart from others? The pink and purple hues that peek from the interiors add to the diamond’s distinctiveness, for when you combine the hues, it generates a rare bubble gum shade. Size is another important factor that plays a crucial role here. The 10 carat diamond was cut and polished from, hold your breaths now,-a 21.35 carat stone mined in Africa. The pink gem was then set in a platinum ring to make matters all the more interesting.
A majority of the pink diamonds are mined in Australia’s Argyle mine, where officials recently discovered a 12.76 carat rock. And to give you a better overview of things in so far as the pink diamond’s rarity is concerned, here is a small trivia. Christie’s, the celebrated auction house, is reported to have auctioned pink diamonds over ten carats in the past 3 centuries! The bubble gum ring, however, isn’t the first pink diamond ever to have made headlines in Canada. A pink diamond sold at the Circa auctions in Toronto two years ago, fetched a whopping $2.3 million.- a price which goes down in the history of Canada as the highest ever, bagged by a gem.
The bubble gum ring, according to Birks spokespersons, is fresh out of the books from the Jeweler’s workshops. It, claimed the source, has never really been used by the previous owner. A collector’s piece, Birks hopes that the ring will ultimately find its place in a collector’s showcase. The jeweler, moreover, believes that the buyer will turn out to be somebody who knows diamond. The ring, after all, is not the kind that you would wear to work everyday. Birks, therefore, is expected to remain packed with curious customers all day.
Australian Pink Diamond
After the South African bubble gum diamond, there is another pink diamond from Australia to take gem enthusiasts by storm. The rough pink diamond is probably the largest ever found in Australia, say experts. So how big is it? The size of a pound coin almost, reveals sources. Named Argyle Pink Jubilee, the diamond was born in a mine that produces ninety percent of the world’s pink diamonds
That pink diamonds are one of the most valuable jewels in the world is a known fact now. However, if you flip through the pages of history, they seemed to have inspired movies or re-kindled bonds. They were celebrated in the Pink Panther series. Ben Affleck proposed his girlfriend Sandra Bullock with a pink diamond (don’t be inspired by that part, for Affleck’s and Bullock’s was, well, a relation sank faster than Titanic after the engagement).
Coming back to the Rio diamond, the gem is now being kept secure from cat burglars as jewelers and craftsmen remain busy preparing it for a grand auction during Argyle Pink Diamonds Tender later this year.
If we are to draw parallels then the Australian gem reminds one of the Williamson Pink which Queen Elizabeth II received as a wedding gift. While experts estimate the diamond to be worth millions of dollars, the exact amount remains under the wraps until it goes on sale later this year. Bookies, however, are of the opinion that the gem may fetch between £20 and £25million. Chin Yeow Quek, Sotheby’s Asia Department head of Jewelry, had a different story to tell. According to Quek, judging a stone in the rough is not easy. The price depends essentially on how large the rock will actually be polished down to. The intensity of color and clarity also come into play here. Diamonds, Quek added, lose around fifty percent of their size over the polishing process. Well, all we can hope for is that the Pink jubilee remains in the pink of everything even after being polished to the hilt!
The largest round pink diamond to auction at Christie’s Hong Kong Magnificent Jewels sale:
A 12.04 carat round fancy pink diamond is all set to create history this May by becoming the largest ever to appear at an auction. The rare gem, with a Martian connection, has already toured cities like Shanghai, Beijing, Tokyo, Osaka and will further visit Singapore, Taipei, Geneva and Bangkok as part of a world preview tour that culminates in Hong Kong. Owned previously by a private collector, the Pink diamond is slated to go under the hammer at Christie’s Magnificent Jewels Spring Sale. According to sources, it is one of the two known round rare pink diamonds of significant size.
Coming to the Gem’s Martian connections , the story goes like this- purchased in 1976, the diamond, was named “Martian Pink” by renowned American Jeweler Ronald Winston in honor of the US satellite mission on Mars that year. The Martian Pink, let us inform you, has been dubbed very rare, primarily since it exhibits not a single trace of any secondary color. A once-in-a-blue-moon phenomena, considering that a majority of natural pink diamonds are found to exhibit color modifiers like orange, grey and purple. The presence of a Type IIa characteristic gives it an extraordinary limpidity and intense pink coloration, revealed Christie’s sources.
The Martian Pink’s aura and features are virtually unrivaled or unmatched by any other, barring the sole exception of the Williamson Pink diamond. A wedding gift for Queen Elizabeth II, the 23.60 carat gem is another significant round pink diamond alongside the Martian Pink.
Martian Pink Diamond warms up for ‘auction’ in Hong Kong:
Natural fancy pink diamonds are recherché and few and far between to catch a sight of – particularly, when it’s pretty blimp and does not contain secondary colors. But, the rare Martian Pink Diamond which possesses both of these traits finally reached for auction at Christie’s in Hong Kong.
The scintillating round-shape diamond comes about 12 carats in size and epitomizes unprecedented exclusivity for rare pink tinge that merges unbelievably with purity of its form. Although there are a multitude of pink diamonds that reveals color modifiers such as brown and purple, but the Martian Pink touches a pinnacle for endowing absolute no trace of secondary hue.
Martian Pink is now owned by a private collector and touts to be the largest round pink diamond to ever be auctioned. If we go by what the buzz has been humming about, the exceptional stone will be raking in between $8 and $12 million (well, that sounds way too great).
The type IIa round brilliant-cut pink diamond ring by Harry Winston, however, will be put up for exhibition as part of Christie’s Magnificent Jewels auction on May 29 in Hong Kong. As far as the value is concerned, the gemstone has a pre-auction estimate of $8 to $12 million.
Queen Elizabeth's Williamson Pink Diamond:
The only other magnificent and outsized round pink diamond that exists in today’s period besides Martian Pink is the renowned 23.60 carrat Williamson Pink Diamond. In fact, it’s the same diamond which was presented to Queen Elizabeth almost six decades ago in respect of her glorious wedding. While bulky sized pink hued real diamonds such as the exclusive Martian Pink and Williamson Pink may not come along often, but gemstones tinged in pink and of considerable sizes do.
Diamond lovers should also check-out the world's most expensive diamonds sold at auctions.


text:
Move over, Asia: One of the world's fastest growing regions is actually Africa, where greater stability, growing foreign investment, and new consumer spending power are fueling an economic boom.
Natural resources are fueling major growth on the continent. An Africa correspondent explains why, despite challenges, resources are a great hope for the future.
MORE ON THIS TOPIC
Africa's rapid growth is not affecting the continent equally. Here's a look at five countries that represent some of the brightest spots.
Recent years have seen the emergence of a large consuming class on the continent. The former U.S. Ambassador to Nigeria explains what's driving this—and what the future must hold if it is to be sustained.
FROM THE WEB
By clicking on the following links, you will leave the T. Rowe Price site and open a new browser window. T. Rowe Price is not responsible for the content on these sites.
The Wall Street Journal
GILKIS - Heinrich van den Berg


text:
"We are pleased and honored to partner with Mr. Stone, the jockeys and the American Red Cross for such a worthy cause," said Oak Tree Racing Association Executive Vice President Sherwood Chillingworth. "One hundred percent of the money raised will go to the American Red Cross Hurricane Katrina relief fund."The Oak Tree Racing Association will cover any operational costs incurred as a result of this event, as well as making it's own contribution, Chillingworth added. In addition to covering costs, Oak Tree will make a separate donation.
Edited from Press Release--The Oak Tree Racing Association, internationally acclaimed equine artist Fred Stone, and a number of the nation's top jockeys will join forces at Santa Anita Oct. 1, to raise money for victims of Hurricane Katrina. In conjunction with the American Red Cross, an array of Stone's artwork will be available at 50% of retail cost, including a color poster entitled "Louisiana Passage," which clearly defines the region's long-time love affair with the horse. This poster will be available for a $10 donation. Stone's signature piece, "One-Two-Three," a close-up masterpiece that captures the essence of Thoroughbred competition, will be available, signed by active and retired and Hall of Fame jockeys for $40. Additionally, five collector's item posters featuring Point Given and Gary Stevens; John Henry and Chris McCarron; A.P. Indy and Eddie Delahoussaye; Seattle Slew and Jean Cruget; and Sunday Silence with Patrick Valenzuela, will be available at $30 each. Stone also is offering 15 limited prints of his classic, "American Triple Crown," signed by himself, Eddie Arcaro, John Longden, Ron Turcotte and Jean Cruguet, for a donation of $100. (These items retail at $300). Hall of Fame jockeys Eddie Delahoussaye, Kent Desormeaux, Laffit Pincay Jr., Chris McCarron, Gary Stevens and other current top riders will be available, along with Stone, to autograph this artwork .


text:
Two United States senators pressed the Federal Trade Commission to probe Tesla. Democratic Sens. Richard Blumenthal and Edward Markey penned a letter to the agency saying Tesla misled consumers and endangered the public by marketing its driving automation systems as fully self-driving.
PayPal is offering gig economy workers an easier way to manage their money. The online payment platform recently announced a new partnership with Fiserv, which allows workers to get paychecks deposited into a PayPal or Venmo account.
As the demand for plus-size apparel rises in the United States, Old Navy is making moves to tap into the extended-size market. Old Navy will soon offer sizes 0 through 28 and XS through 4X for all its female styles in its stores, and up to size 30 online. Female models will now appear in sizes four, 12 and 18, both in stores and online. Old Navy will also rearrange the merchandise in stores, so that sizes are no longer located in separate areas.


text:
Goals Soccer Centres revives plans for more centres
Goals Soccer Centres has announced plans for a "controlled rollout" of new centres, starting later this year.
The announcement came as the East Kilbride firm reported a 3% rise in sales for the year to the end of December.
Goals currently has 43 outdoor five-a-side centres in the UK and one in Los Angeles.
In 2012 it postponed plans to open more centres in order to focus on improving its cash position.
Between June and December 2012, it cut net debt from £54m to £46m.
In a stock market update on Wednesday, Goals said trading for the year was in line with market expectations, with overall sales increasing by 3% to £33.5m.
It also reported that its operation in the US had continued to perform strongly.
The trading statement added: "The Goals operating model is highly resilient, profitable and cash generative.
"The board believes that there is a significant opportunity to further develop the business by increasing brand awareness, through a greater use of digital technology and social media and by opening new centres.
"The development of our new app and website are well advanced and we expect to launch these during the second quarter of the year.
"Accordingly, subject to satisfactory prevailing economic conditions, the board intends to commence a controlled rollout of additional centres from later this year."


text:
The Central American Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA) would reduce trade barriers with the five Central American countries and the Dominican Republic that together compose America’s second‐largest export market in the Western Hemisphere. Opponents of the agreement charge that it would threaten the U.S. textile and sugar industries and that it does not protect worker rights in what are relatively poor countries.
Supporters of trade liberalization counter that CAFTA would promote trade and raise living standards in neighboring countries where we have a strong foreign policy interest. They argue that CAFTA would consolidate the economic, social, and political progress achieved in a region that was in turmoil in the 1980s but has now turned to democracy. Please join our experts for a discussion of their recent study on CAFTA.


text:
Caraco receives tentative FDA approval for generic Lexapro
WASHINGTON The FDA has granted tentative approval for Caraco’s abbreviated new drug application for escitalopram oxalate tablets (escitalopram), 5 mg, 10 mg and 20 mg.
Escitalopram is indicated for the treatment of major depressive disorder and is the generic bioequivalent of Forest Laboratories’ Lexapro.
Caraco and Forest Laboratories have been involved in a patent litigation over the generic Lexapro since July. Lexapro tablets had U.S. sales of approximately $2.5 billion for the 12-month period ending Sept. 30, Caraco said.
“We are extremely pleased to receive this tentative approval,” said Caraco’s chief executive officer, Daniel Movens. “The ANDA was filed with a Paragraph IV certification that we do not infringe Forest’s Lexapro patents or that they are invalid. As previously disclosed, we are currently involved in litigation with Forest Laboratories that will determine whether we may launch our generic product prior to the expiration of these patents. Though the outcome of this litigation is uncertain, we remain confident in our position and continue to expect a favorable conclusion.”
RPCS to expand $3 generics program to Food Pyramid
SPRINGFIELD, Mo. A regional, employee-owned company is set to celebrate the successful one-year anniversary of its $3 generic drug program by expanding its services.
RPCS, based in Springfield, Mo., launched its $3 generics program last year at its 20 pharmacies located inside the corporation’s four regional chains: Ramey, Price Cutter, Price Cutter Plus and Smitty’s grocery stores.
For Black Friday this year, the company debuted a similar program at nine pharmacies in Food Pyramid stores in the Tulsa area.
The $3 price applies to specific generic drugs with up to a 30-day supply of commonly prescribed dosages. Quantities over 30 days or above recommended common dosages will be at usual and customary pricing.
Since its launch, RPCS’ pharmacists have filled more than 100,000 prescriptions.
“Senior citizens, as you would imagine, make up a large portion of customers taking advantage of the program,” Larry Storey, pharmacy administrator for RPCS, said. “However, we’ve found that everyone appreciates saving money. We’ve filled $3 generics for people from all walks of life and all age groups. We’ve actually saved the customer anywhere from $5 to $20 for each prescription on the list.”
The top five generics that customers are purchasing on the program are metformin, used to treat diabetes; hydrochlorothiazide, diuretic for cardiac patients; levothyroxine, for thyroid patients; lisinopril, to treat high blood pressure; and amoxicillin, an antibiotic.
UCB files application with FDA for new pain reliever
BRUSSELS, Belgium Belgian pharmaceutical group UCB said on Thursday that it has filed a drug application with the Food and Drug Administration for its pain-relieving drug, according to Reuters.
Lacosamide, designed to treat epilepsy and pain associated with diabetic neuropaths, was filed to become an additional therapy in the treatment of partial onset seizures in adults with epilepsy and includes three formulations—tablets, syrup and intravenous injection, UCB said in a statement.
The drug’s proposed trade name is Vimpat.
UCB made a similar filing with the European Medicines Agency earlier this year, Reuters reported. The Belgian company already has blockbuster drug Keppra to treat epilepsy, although patent protection is set to expire in the United States by January 2009 and in Europe in May 2010.
Reuters also reported that the company’s other drug, with the proposed trade name Rikelta, is in Phase III trials to treat epilepsy and genetic epilepsy disorder Unverricht Lundborg Disease, while lacosamide is in Phase II trials for fibromyalgia, migraine prophylaxis and osteoarthritic pain.
UCB had also sought approval from the U.S. authorities for lacosamide to treat adults with diabetic neuropathic pain in tablet formation. The condition is often described as causing patients to feel a stabbing and burning sensation in the legs, feet or hands. Close to 7.7 million Americans suffer from the condition.


text:
Notice: To display this embed please allow the use of Functional Cookies in Cookie Preferences.
Speaking to GamesIndustry.biz following Wednesday’s PS5 showcase, the SIE president claimed a subscription-type model would be unsustainable for PlayStation Studios, because it often sees its game budgets grow to “well over $100 million”.
On Wednesday Sony announced the PS Plus Collection, a library of PS4 games which subscribers to its online service will receive as part of their service on PlayStation 5. However, Ryan ruled out putting new releases behind a subs model like Microsoft does with Xbox Game Pass.
“For us, having a catalogue of games is not something that defines a platform,” the exec said. “Our pitch, as you’ve heard, is ‘new games, great games.’ We have had this conversation before — we are not going to go down the road of putting new releases titles into a subscription model.
“These games cost many millions of dollars, well over $100 million, to develop. We just don’t see that as sustainable.”
He added: “We want to make the games bigger and better, and hopefully at some stage more persistent. So putting those into a subscription model on day one, for us, just doesn’t make any sense.
“For others in a different situation, it might well make sense, but for us it doesn’t. We want to expand and grow our existing ecosystem, and putting new games into a subscription model just doesn’t sit with that.”
In contrast to Ryan’s comments, Xbox head Phil Spencer has claimed that Xbox Game Pass can be “a real decision-maker” for people evaluating which next-gen console to buy this year.
Commenting on the PS Plus Collection, which includes games like Monster Hunter World and Bloodborne as part of the online subscription, Ryan said he hoped fans were “surprised and delighted” by the surprise announcement.
“The great first-party IPs are all there, the great partner titles, and we’d say that if you are new to PlayStation, or if you didn’t have a PS4 but are getting a PS5, and you’re taking out a PS Plus subscription, you’re basically getting PS4 there for the price of the subscription,” Ryan said.
“We’re delighted to be able to do that. We think that’s really exciting and we hope that people were surprised and delighted by that.”
On Wednesday Sony confirmed that PlayStation 5 will launch starting November 12 for $400 / £360 for the Digital Edition console and $500 / £450 for the standard edition.
The console will release first in the US, Japan, Canada, Mexico, Australia and South Korea. The rest of the world will get the console a week later on Thursday, November 19, including Europe, Middle East, South America, Asia and South Africa.
The platform holder also confirmed that first-party PlayStation 5 games will retail up to $70 / £70, mimicking an industry-wide trend towards more expensive games on next-gen consoles.


text:
today, if you go to the China downtown shopping district, will find a dismal picture: dawn department stores have closed the shop, bodied Plaza China World Trade Center shops and Gemini building stores, now finally an Oriental Plaza store evacuated Oriental Plaza; look at the Zhongguancun e world, once the racket has now become a shopping mall the so-called Chinese millennium; Guangzhou is now a serious collapse of the closed shop tide; Chinese the most prosperous Yangtze River Delta area more than half the shops have closed, Yiwu has become a historical myth……
even major brands began to arm to survive, last year, Chinese first brand Bosideng down jacket in just six months, the number of stores from 8216 reduced to 3436, close 4780 stores, a daily average of 19 stores closed, others such as Lining, Anta, PEAK and XTEP are spared, it all this is due to electronic commerce gift. Cheap electricity supplier a serious impact on the line entity stores, along with the gradually younger shoppers, they began to become accustomed to online shopping! But businessmen from the entities under the line to open shop online is really successful implementation of the transformation of the electricity supplier of the
according to the latest statistics show that three years ago, the domestic open shop business is only in the profit of a year ago, but the profit was reduced to 9% of the shop, and this year, this figure is even more terrible, down to the level of. In other words, most of the store business did not actually achieve profitability. On the one hand, the Internet vicious competition is too fierce, the sale price of the commodity is always on the go; on the other hand shop operating costs are actually not low, even higher than the store next line, in addition to labor costs, warehousing costs, and the cost of logistics, platform service fees, the most expensive is the cost of promotion, whether it is in Tmall is in the Jingdong, businesses want to get goods display must be paid advertising, but did not show any
so, for merchants who, in the end where the way out? Is to continue to operate the line of stores, or engaged in e-commerce? The rise of O2O, make the traditional offline businesses to see a new hope, a subversion of Taobao, Tmall, Jingdong’s O2O movement has thus opened.
brands — self mode of garment manufacturers collective defection of
is the traditional clothing brand manufacturers, the electricity supplier greatly deprives them of profit sources, can be said that their hearts can not reveal the pain, how to use O2O to launch electricity supplier counterattack become collective appeal brands. On the one hand, they began to build their own online mall instead of completely relying on Tmall, Jingdong, on the other hand they use WeChat public number, and their line outlets combine to create an integrated O2O.
from the brand perspective, traditional brands they passed over the years of operation of the brand, has accumulated a number of loyal fans, these fans wherever they are loyal users. The rise of electricity providers also caused a lot of fake horizontal >


text:
The idea of a home remedy that can cure skin cancer may sound appealing, but dermatologists will tell you it’s too good to be true. According to new research published in the May issue of the Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology, the vast majority of patients who use the home remedy black salve do so without talking to a dermatologist first — and as a result, many are unaware of how harmful it can be.
The term “black salve” refers to a family of substances containing the corrosive ingredients zinc chloride and sanguinarine, which can severely damage the skin. Some patients apply these products to suspected skin cancers because they think it’s an easy way to remove them; however, black salve can destroy the top layer of skin while leaving cancer behind in the deeper layers, where the disease may continue to grow.
“There is a misperception that black salve ‘draws the cancer out,’ when, in fact, it just indiscriminately damages anything it touches,” says board-certified dermatologist Mark J. Eliason, MD, FAAD, a member of the University of Utah team that conducted the research. “One of the reasons black salve treatment is so dangerous is that many users have no idea how harmful it can be.”
In interviewing black salve users for their research, the Utah team found that 74 percent of those users were unaware of the potential side effects — which include infection, extensive scarring and disfigurement — before they applied the substance to their skin. In addition to these side effects, black salve use may delay the diagnosis and treatment of skin cancer, giving the disease the opportunity to spread and become harder to remove — even life-threatening.
While manufacturers and distributors of black salve market their products as “easy and natural” treatments, there is no solid research supporting the safety and efficacy of black salve use, says board-certified dermatologist Sarah D. Cipriano, MD, MPH, who headed the research team. Moreover, she says, these products are not regulated by the Food and Drug Administration, which included black salve on its list of “187 Fake Cancer ‘Cures’ Consumers Should Avoid.”
“Although black salve is labeled as a natural product, it is not a safe one,” Dr. Cipriano says. “Relying on word-of-mouth, marketing testimonials and Internet searches is dangerous when it comes to your health.”
The vast majority of the black salve users interviewed by the Utah researchers said they learned about the home remedy from a family member or friend; only 30 percent of those interviewed consulted a dermatologist before using black salve. When asked why they opted to use a home remedy instead of receiving treatment from a doctor, some of those interviewed indicated they wanted to avoid surgery, while others simply said it was convenient. Some users also indicated that they didn’t feel comfortable discussing black salve with their doctor.
“If you see something on your skin that looks suspicious or is different from other spots on your skin, it’s important to see a board-certified dermatologist for the proper diagnosis and treatment,” Dr. Eliason says. “When skin cancer is not treated promptly or properly, the effects can be devastating.”
Dr. Cipriano has seen those effects firsthand. Early in her residency, she met a patient undergoing surgery for an aggressive skin cancer that eventually claimed his life. While he could have survived with early detection and treatment, he had delayed seeking medical care, opting instead to use black salve.
“I’ve worked with many patients who have experienced the harmful side effects of black salve use,” Dr. Cipriano says. “We hope our research will raise awareness about the potential dangers of these products, which far outweigh the supposed benefits. We encourage patients to consult with a dermatologist or other health care provider before considering a home remedy like black salve.”
May or may not contain “Blood root” , which makes it sound appealingly “natural” but always contains zinc chloride paste. This is a controlled medication and its use without prescription is illegal in New Zealand. This is because it is a painless corrosive, indiscriminately killing normal skin as well as cancer. A lesion treated with “black salve” means there is no proof of diagnosis, no proof of complete removal and often an ugly scar as the crater heals up. Use of this product can and does result in missed diagnosis, inadequate and inappropriate treatment , ugly wounds and even death. I do not recommend it.


text:
Scala Now Really Up And Running On ChromeOS
January 15, 2016 by Dave Haynes
Scala has formally joined the list of companies developing solutions that run on Google ChromeOS devices, releasing a version of the Scala Enterprise Player that will work on a Chromebox, and in theory at least, on Chromebits and Chromebase all-in-ones.
Scala was at the Google booth at DSE 2015 indicating it was doing ChromeOS, but like some of the other companies co-located there, it was mostly touting plans as opposed to actual capabilities at that point. Now the product is up and out the door.
The Scala ChromeOS app powering a display runs in Google’s self-contained device administration and management environment. A ChromeOS device will connect directly to Scala Enterprise Content Manager, communicate over HTTP/HTTPS and get maintenance statistics on status, heartbeats and diagnostic logging.
Scala Enterprise Player for Chromebox, the Philly-area company says, delivers rich dynamic HTML5 content, advanced scheduling and screen zone division with independent playback in each zone and stands out from other devices by simultaneously playing multiple videos.
Scala says the highlights of the player include:
- rich HTML5 content;
- smooth visual effects incorporating images, video and audio;
- multiple screen zones showing unique content;
- linkage to Google’s secure management environment.


text:
China is losing competitiveness to lower-cost producing countries like Vietnam and Indonesia, which is pressurizing its manufacturing sector, says Stanley Szeto, Chairman & CEO of Lever Style.» Read More
Industrial output from euro zone factories defied market expectations and rose in April, but expansion was slowed by a drop in production of energy and durable consumer goods.
With orders expected to be low, the Paris Air Show has a distinct air of unpredictability. The possibility of commercial unmanned air crafts - known as drones - could be a hot topic.
New guidelines from India proposing that pilots should be allowed to sleep on planes raises the issue once more of whether pilots should be allowed rest and whether they are overworked.
Nikos Koukoutzos, General Manager at Kleemann Hellas speaks about navigating through the Greek debt crisis and the company's increasing focus on China and other emerging markets.
With next week's Paris Air Show just around the corner, Airbus announced on Tuesday that the first flight of its new A350 XWB (extra wide body) jet will take place on Friday.
Boeing upgraded its 20-year forecast for airplane demand as aerospace firms heading to next week's Paris Air Show look beyond the financial crisis to pin their hopes on Asia.
Chad Moutray, National Association of Manufacturers chief economist, explains how an unfavorable export climate is impeding the creation of manufacturing jobs.
Gina Sanchez, chairwoman and founder of Chantico Global, says the Fed will ere on the side of caution because of weakness in manufacturing and labor markets as well as missed sales expectations.
Chris Williamson, chief economist at Markit, says the U.K. is "gathering momentum" following the release of manufacturing and industrial output numbers and expects GDP to reach 0.5% in the current quarter.
With Chevy Volt sales lagging and inventory backing up, General Motors is offering up to $5,000 cashback in hopes of spurring greater sales.
A few years ago the lion's share of "action" in the aerospace industry was focused on military aircraft, but now the balance of power has tipped to the commercial side, according to an expert.
The auto industry is about to go on a hiring spree as carmakers and parts suppliers race to find engineers, technicians, and factory workers.
Customer reviews influencing what retailers do more than ever before. The culprit: social media and the risks that negative comments can go viral quicker than ever before.
Abandoning China, more manufacturers are mining technology and crowdfunding to raise capital to make "Made in USA" goods, which means U.S. jobs. What's driving the reshoring surge?
Germany's Bundesbank cut its growth outlook for Germany, as it sees exports rising slower than imports, but added that the country could see strong growth in the second quarter of this year.
The Japanese automaker delivers a bolder design, more room, and better mileage with its 11th generation Corolla.
Despite speculation that Apple next week will announce a music-streaming service, the iPhone maker might have something else up its sleeve.
As Presidents Obama and Xi Jinping meet this weekend, China's aggressive actions and halting cooperation on a growing list of issues undermine the U.S. economy and national security.
More consumers are asking questions about overseas-made products including apparel. See a list of 10 neat products, curated by USA Love List, a site devoted to American-made goods.
Linda Dempsey, VP for International Economic Affairs at the National Association of Manufacturers, discusses the headwinds in international trade, focusing on what she calls "unfair" trade practices in India.


text:
Don't miss the latest stories
Netflix’s ‘Fast Laughs’ Is Like TikTok But With Funny Clips For Your Dose Of Joy
By Mikelle Leow, 04 Mar 2021
Video screenshot via Netflix Is A Joke
Everyone needs a little pick-me-up sometimes, especially with the COVID-19 situation still persisting. During this time, social media users have been turning to Netflix for an instant escape and TikTok for some quick gratification. Netflix is now bringing the best of two worlds together with ‘Fast Laughs’, a stream of bite-sized clips to tickle your funny bone.
The feature is markedly inspired by TikTok. Like the popular video-sharing platform, ‘Fast Laughs’ lets you watch and scroll through a mixed bag of short clips, as well as react to and share them. However, unlike TikTok, Netflix draws from its own content. You can then add the respective program to your watchlist, or tap ‘Play’ to watch the show immediately.
‘Fast Laughs’ started trials late last year, and it appears that it was so well-received, Netflix is pushing it as a core feature. It even has its own tab, located next to ‘Coming Soon’.
Currently, ‘Fast Laughs’ only showcases snippets from Netflix Originals—including Murder Mystery, Big Mouth, and The Crew—but the company told TechCrunch it will extend to its entire catalog.
iOS users in select countries will get first access to this option as part of a test, though Netflix intends to bring the feature to Android users “soon.”
[via TechCrunch, video and cover image via Netflix Is A Joke]
More related news
Also check out these recent news


text:
Whitbread has ramped up its expansion plans for budget hotel chain Premier Inn and adjoined restaurants following strong end of year trading results.
The group plans to improve on its previous goal of opening 12,000 new rooms within the next five years by a further 10,000 rooms, taking its total estate to 65,000 rooms by 2016.
It plans to achieve 40 per cent of this amended target by concentrating on new catchment areas where Premier Inn is not currently present. In addition, the group also plans to grow its estate via the joint site model and as such expects to open 80-100 new restaurants over the next five years.
Mark Anderson, commercial & property director for Whitbread, said: “My property team has now turned the burners up to full to ensure that we can secure great sites in great locations to deliver this increased number of bedrooms within the next five years.
“We’ve raised our sights and want to send a clear signal to the market that we are in the business of growth and keen to do deals with partners who can help us to achieve our plans, reinforcing our position as the UK’s biggest budget hotel operator.”
Premier Inn achieved a like for like occupancy rise of 6.6 per cent to 76.2 per cent, leading to a revPAR increase of 8.2 per cent.
Its restaurants stable, which includes Table Table, Brewers Fayre and Beefeater, saw like for like sales grow 3.3 per cent, thanks in part to its value for money offers.
In its results for the financial year ending 3 March 2011, Whitbread saw total revenue for the group increase 11.5 per cent to £1,599.6m. Operating profits for its hotels and restaurants increased 14.7 per cent to £283.4m, while those for its Costa brand rose 38.4 per cent to £50.1m.
Andy Harrison, chief executive of Whitbread, said: “These results demonstrate the strength of Whitbread's competitive position and market opportunity. Growth in our like for like sales remains firmly positive, although at a lower level than that achieved in the fourth quarter of 2010/11.
“Despite a more challenging consumer economy, we are confident that we will continue to outperform, based on the strength of our brands and our customer propositions. Our emphasis is on giving customers value for money, winning market share and keeping a tight control of costs.
“We see a significant opportunity for Whitbread, building on our good returns on capital and the availability of quality sites. We are already growing faster and will add around 4,000 new Premier Inn UK rooms and around 300 Costa stores this year and we have set new five year milestones.
“This is an exciting and profitable plan to build on Whitbread‟s success and to create substantial value for our shareholders.”
Whitbread also plans to double its Costa estate to 3,500 stores within the next five years.


text:
Avanti Adds Diversity to Offerings
October 25, 2004,
Responding to requests for more coordinated offerings, embellished towel manufacturer Avanti Linens branched out at the recent New York Home Textiles Market with shower curtains, tub mats and decorative pillows.
Retail price points are set at $16.99 to $24.99 for the decorative pillows, which come in three sizes; $49.99 for the shower curtains, which are embroidered and made of 100 percent cotton and come with a valance; and $19.99 for the embroidered terry tub mats.
Next year, the company will offer these coordinate products to more collections, said Jeffrey Kaufman, president and chief operating officer.
In other news, Avanti is showing its new $9.99 bath towel program. Kaufman said the company recently updated its embellished hand and tip towel collection to include a coordinating bath towel. The result is bath ensembles in six of the line's most popular design icons. The hand towels retail for $7.99 and the tip for $5.99.
Related Content By Author
1200 Suppliers are Ready for You at Intertextile Shanghai
Home & Textiles Today eDaily
Most Viewed Articles
See the August 2017 issue of Home & Textiles Today. In this issue, we look at the Top 50 Retailing Giants Report, plus Manufacturing: Made in the USA gaining ground; International: Portugal ramping up exports; New products: NY Now home textiles introductions; Outlook: Commentary from H&TT's editors; and Planning: Trade show calendar.


text:
DENVER — On Monday, King Soopers announced that they will be making free COVID-19 testing available for employees based on symptoms and medical need.
“At King Soopers, the safety and health of our associates and customers remains our top priority during this unprecedented time,” said Steve Burnham, president of King Soopers. “Our associates have worked tirelessly to provide communities continued access to fresh, affordable food. We are dedicated to providing support and gratitude to our associates.”
The tests will be a combination of self-administered test kits and the company's public drive-thru testing sites.
The supermarket will also move back to normal hours of operation with the transition from Stay at Home to Safer at Home orders.
The change is to continue to promote social distancing.
Hours will vary by store, but most of our stores operate from 5am-12am.


text:
The owner of a gym in Canada has backtracked after someone posted a photo of the gym’s business cards online. The business in question is Fitness2Life in Armstrong, British Columbia.
Besides listing the gym’s facilities, and featuring a Jesus-like muscle man carrying a hefty-looking crucifix, on their reverse, the cards also feature a logo of a man and a woman and the words ‘straight pride’.
Someone posted images of the cards to Facebook last week, where they prompted many shares and thousands of comments.
“Disappointing to see a business actually putting “straight pride” on their business card,” said Dailene Cowles on a local Facebook group, ‘Vernon Rant and Rave’. “I’m all for Live and Let Live, but sometimes we have to stand up for what’s right. Especially with something SO wrong.”
The owner of the gym, Peter Nenasheff, told local press he does not have a Facebook account so he has not seen the comments. However, he says he received several phone calls, some criticizing and others supporting him. He told Vernon Morning Star, “It was not to offend anybody, it was just my freedom of expression. Everybody is welcome in my gym.”
The cards were printed last August, so Nenasheff was surprised at how they suddenly prompted controversy.
“It’s just my personal view, we don’t have a right to judge anybody. I’m not judging anybody with what I put on that card. I guess maybe I shouldn’t have put it there,” he conceded, before saying some of his customers are gay.
“I know I have gay members coming here. I’m not against anybody, any color, race, nationality, nothing, everybody is welcome to the gym.”
Nenasheff told CBC that he just felt pride about being heterosexual and wanted to express that.
“I am proud that I’m a straight guy … I [take] no offense if someone is proud that they are gay. Everybody has their right to choose their lifestyle they want to live or whatever it may be and I don’t get offended if someone has gay pride on their window or car or wherever it may be.”
The gym has been running for 20 years. Nenasheff took it over 12 years ago.
On the front of the card was the logo of a local coffee shop business, Cherry Hill, a supplier to the gym. When the cards were brought to the attention of that business, a spokesperson said its logo had been used without permission and that it had asked the gym to remove all the offending cards.
“We did not give the owner permission to use our logo on his business cards, and since it is a registered logo we may pursue further action,” said president David Bigelow. “The straight pride logo has no affiliation with our company, and Cherry Hill Coffee opposes the use of the logo and what it represents.”
It later posted a comment to its Facebook page saying, “Our Cherry Hill family strongly believes that diversity fuels innovation and that inclusivity creates acceptance. We strive to create an environment where our family, our friends and our valued employees are free to celebrate their authentic selves.”
The business cards have now been pulled and Nenasheff says his cards in the future will make it clear that everyone is welcome at the gym.


text:
TUSCALOOSA, Alabama --Growing nonfarm employment, a declining unemployment rate, and ongoing development projects across the state have economists at the University of Alabama's Center for Business and Economic Research (CBER) feeling more optimistic about the state's economy in 2012.
According to a release today from the center, GDP growth is expected to accelerate from an estimated 2.2 percent in 2011 to about 2.5 percent this year. Forecasted employment gains of 1.1 percent compare to last year's 0.8 percent increase. Around 20,000 nonfarm jobs could be added during 2012, the release said.
CBER expects manufacturers of primary and fabricated metals and transportation equipment to contribute to job growth this year. Service providing businesses, in particular, administrative, support, and waste management services and retail trade, should see a strong showing on job creation during 2011 carry over into 2012.
However, CBER said the state's unemployment rate, back below the
The contribution of exports to the
State tax revenue finished much improved for the recently ended fiscal year; tax collections totaled around $8.6 billion, up 5.0 percent from a year earlier, the center said.
However, gains in tax receipts slowed to 2.5 percent in the first quarter of FY2012 compared to first quarter FY2011. Stronger growth in consumer spending in the state is needed to boost revenues; an increase of 1.8 percent in sales tax collections during the most recent quarter compares to an average of 3.6 percent in FY 2011.
CBER expects growth in total tax receipts to slow to around 3.5 percent during FY2012.


text:
Adding external speakers to portable music players like iPods or even mobile phones is a dubious prospect at the best of times (an accessory too far?), but at least the new set from Logicool has a little extra to offer.
The Japanese company's ¥18,800 (£97) PF700 wireless speakers use Bluetooth to hook up to whatever source you have – obviously, not an iPod in this case – to relay the tunes to all and sundry.
So far, so boring, but where the pricey system might just have a chance of winning acceptance is in its built-in speakerphone function.
Assuming a phone is at the heart of things, the PF700 can detect an incoming call and start a conversation automatically. Best of all, it even has a pretty decent noise-cancelling microphone to explain the high price.
Although the full tech specs aren't official yet – the PF700 launches next week – we do know that it weighs 450g and will run for 12 hours on a charge taken either from USB or an AC source.


text:
Blockchain in higher education! How does it sound to you? It sounds amazing to us. Blockchain discovered a world of unstoppable creativity. As a result, it is tirelessly evolving the use of technology. Because of which bringing new possibilities to help the world with greater discoveries no longer seems a dream anymore. Earlier we have […]
People’s Bank of China (PBoC) opt for Shenzhen Fintech Research Institute to work on its blockchain project. The institute made an announcement for blockchain experts requirements on its official website. A following disclosure about the announcement states that a total of 29 jobs opening is present. The recruitment is, especially, in search of cryptography engineer […]
Canada’s Chamber of Digital Commerce has merged with the Blockchain Association of Canada to form a new entity that will focus on developing a strong blockchain ecosystem in the nation. As per the press release, Tanya Woods, Executive Director and Policy Strategist of BAC, has been appointed as the Managing Director of the Chamber of Digital Commerce Canada.
WISeKey, a Switzerland-based blockchain and cybersecurity company, has opened a Blockchain Center of Excellence in Geneva, to focus on Fintech domain. The center is intended to promote the research and development of blockchain. As per the company, the opening of the center is the result of its partnership with the Blockchain Research Institute, which also aims to come up with more centers in the US, China, India, and Africa.


text:
Acer Prepares for Apple's TabletBy and
Count Acer (2353:TT) Chairman J.T. Wang among the many people in the tech world awaiting the debut of Apple's (AAPL) new tablet computer. "I'm eager to see what Apple has done," says Wang, the top executive at Acer, the world's second-largest PC vendor behind Hewlett-Packard (HPQ). Wang and his Acer colleagues have some guesses about what the tablet, which Apple is scheduled to unveil on Jan.27, will be like. "It's going to be a big-screen iPhone," he predicts. "The content can be bigger, more graphic, with more video and text, but they are going to duplicate a successful model."
To continue reading this article you must be a Bloomberg Professional Service Subscriber.
If you believe that you may have received this message in error please let us know.


text:
Tea is the most consumed beverage in the world and employs millions of smallholder farmers. The small tea growers, in particular, face numerous economic, climatic, and other difficulties. A conference with more than 150 participants from across India and several other countries, including Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, China, Indonesia, and Nepal, was held in Kolkata to discuss and address these challenges.
The inaugural session of the day-long Convention was graced by Dr. Shatadru Chattopadhayay, Managing Director, Solidaridad Asia, Ms. Nayantara Palchoudhuri, Chairperson, Indian Tea Association (ITA) & TRINITEA Programme Committee, Atul Asthana, Vice Chairman, ITA, Hemant Bangur, Additional Vice Chairman, ITA, Arijit Raha, Secretary General, ITA, Henry Heyneardhi, Partnership Director, Indonesian Tea Marketing Association, Senaka Alawattegama, Chairman, Planters’ Association of Ceylon (Sri Lanka), Shah Alam, Chairman, Bangladesh Tea Association, Suresh Mittal, Chairman, Nepal Tea Producer’s Association, and Bijoy Gopal Chakraborty, President, Confederation of Indian Small Tea Growers Association (CISTA), among others. All Assam Small Tea Growers Association and All Bodoland Small Tea Growers Association, Jalpaiguri District Small Tea Growers Association and Small Tea Growers Association of South India along with several other small tea growers’ representatives from Assam, West Bengal and South India also attended the convention.
Through interactive sessions, the participants discussed the role of smallholder farmers in the tea industry and ways to promote their health and well-being and make their businesses environmentally sustainable.
Dr. Shatadru Chattopadhyay, Managing Director, Solidaridad Asia, said, “Over a million small tea growers in India and from other countries depend on the tea industry for their existence. The tea business is critical to rural livelihood as well as the economy of the producing countries. Promoting long-term health, well-being, and environmental sustainability in the tea business should be a top priority, but the sector is facing a crisis because of persistently low tea prices, which are crushing the small tea farmers. Hence, to empower the farmers to turn their business into a purpose-driven brand, Solidaridad is planning to introduce SoliTrace as a part of TRINITEA, a make-in-India sustainability initiative involving smallholder tea farmers and a QR code technology that would allow consumers to interact with the tea producers, as well as learn about the safety and quality standards adopted. More than 92,000 small tea growers have already become members of TRINITEA programme and by the end of 2022, the target is to engage 1,00,000 small tea growers. Such innovation will gradually empower the small tea growers and workers’ associations by helping them build independent, democratic organisations, improve their negotiation position with buyers/employers, achieve economic stability, make joint investments, and increase their collective influence.”
At the conference, Solidaridad also introduced other innovative products specially designed for farmers like SoliProbe, an instant soil analyzer, SoliMet, a hyper-local weather station, SoliBot an interactive chatbot, and Ballotronix, an instant tea leaf reader. Solidaridad Asia wants to connect with more farmers and offer them affordable farmer-friendly innovative solutions. To realize this aim, it has a dedicated team of engineers integrating mechanical, telecommunications, electrical, and electronics systems with robotics, artificial intelligence, and machine learning for the best results.
Stressing upon the challenges of the small tea growers, Ms. Nayantara Palchoudhuri, Chairperson ITA said, “The tea industry as a whole is being adversely impacted by factors that are detrimental to social development, economy, and environment. These factors include the growing effects of climate change, price stagnation, high input cost which has a bearing on the cost of production as well as the mismatch between demand and supply that results in oversupply. In addition, the industry has to bear high transaction costs while facing difficulties in realizing fair prices. Despite all these handicaps, the industry is committed to pursuing the Sustainable Development Goals of the UN. Meanwhile, the way the ITA-Solidaridad partnership has been working on and bringing about a holistic development of the tea industry by way of overall improvement in the livelihoods of STGs – is commendable.”
At the convention, Bijoy Gopal Chakraborty, said, “I am extremely thankful to ITA and Solidaridad for organizing the first India International Small Tea Growers Convention and providing an opportunity to the smallholder tea growers from all tea-producing countries to share their experiences and success stories.”
The day-long event also saw technical sessions featuring presentations and talks by captains of the industry and experts including Small Grower representatives about various aspects of value and supply chains as well the innovative digital tools demonstrating their advantages. The event concluded with an award ceremony felicitating 15 small growers for their exceptional achievement in producing specialty teas followed by a cultural programme.
An exhibition of teas produced by the small growers was also organized and inaugurated by the Hon’ble Minister after the inaugural session


text:
Thanks to a new leak online, the name and specs for Microsoft's new Surface tablet have been revealed: The Surface Go. Starting at $400, the new tablet takes the Surface line in new direction, looking to compete more with the iPad.
Looking to keep those tiny fingers and brains busy? Tablets aren’t just for grown-ups, and many are kid-friendly! Here's our list of the best tablets for kids, with parental controls and plenty of tempting features to satisfy your…
Don't call it a scaled down, bargain Surface Pro tablet. Apple’s iconic iPad will soon have some new competition. in the form of an upcoming 10 inch Surface tablet, priced to compete with the $329 iPad.
Microsoft is rumored to be developing a new range of Surface tablets to offer something to entry-level markets at around the $400 price point. The new devices will sport Intel CPUs and a 10-inch display.
According to the International Data Corporation, numbers for global tablet shipments have decreased. Shipments reached 31.7 million whereas 35.8 million units were shipped during the same quarter last year.
Your iPad sports a stunning 9.7-inch screen and you'll want it to stay that way. The best iPad (2018) screen protectors guard against cracks, scratches, and even smudging from your fingers. Check out our top picks here.
Acer formally introduced the Chromebook Tab 10, the very first Chrome OS tablet designed for students. The device sports a 9.7-inch screen with a QXGA resolution, 32GB of storage, and an included Wacom EMR stylus.


text:
A new law set to go into effect on Friday has shaken up business in the European Union and, by extension, the United States. Email inboxes on both continents have filled with new privacy policies and terms of service over the past couple of weeks as companies anticipate the new General Data Protection Regulation, or GDPR.
The European Parliament adopted the law in 2014, with a two-year grace period starting May 24, 2016. The grace period was meant to allow companies to prepare for GDPR to go into effect.
What Is the GDPR?
The new GDPR law is meant to protect consumers who give companies in Europe their personal data. It is meant to prevent companies from using that data incorrectly or in a way users hadn't consented to.
The law also gives users far more control over their own data. Under GDPR, users can ask a company for all the data that company has on them, and, if they wish, for the company to delete that data as well. Under the "right to be forgotten" rule, users now have to ask companies to delete the data collected on them personally.
What Does GDPR Mean for Technology Users in the United States?
Users in the United States will benefit from changes companies that operate in the EU made to comply with the new law. Many companies have made changes to their privacy policies across all continents; the difference is that users in the U.S. aren't protected legally by GDPR, because it's a European Union law.
Which Companies Will It Impact?
Any company, big or small, that operates in the EU and collects user data must comply with the new law. Companies that rely on data collection are more likely to face lawsuits for not complying, especially in the early days of the law.
The new law could be difficult for some companies to comply with. Most companies have never needed to turn over data they'd collected to a single user, or delete it. Under the new law, companies will need to do this for users who request it. Smaller companies could struggle to do so, especially if many users request it at once.
The emails consumers have been receiving for weeks mostly detail the changes companies are making to be GDPR-compliant. Companies are trying to lay out the ways they’re complying with the new law so they can be as transparent as possible with their users. Many larger companies, like Facebook, have made changes for users worldwide when it comes to their data. Facebook even wrote a blog post announcing the new features that were added to the site, allowing users to control the ads they see as well as their data.
The full GDPR text is available here.
More from Newsweek


text:
USA: AWG to lead Homeland out of bankruptcy
Beleaguered grocer Homeland Stores is to take up an offer of financial assistance from its main supplier, Kansas City-based Associated Wholesale Grocers (AWG), in its bid to recover from Chapter 11 bankruptcy filed in August. AWG has offered more than US$47m to help out the 44-store grocery chain, according to a plan filed in a US Bankruptcy Court in Oklahoma City yesterday [Tuesday].
Get full access to all content, just $1 for 30 days
A Message From The Editor
just-food gives you the widest food market coverage.
Paid just-food members have unlimited access to all our exclusive content - including 17 years of archives.
I am so confident you will love complete access to our content that today I can offer you 30 days access for $1.
It’s our best ever membership offer – just for you.
Dean Best, editor of just-food
- Why personalisation will take-off in US food
- US food next wave on display at Winter Fancy Food
- Comment: Meal kits in US - don't believe the hype
- General Mills sales woes continue - analysis
- Interview: The Soulfull Project's mission
- Post Holdings 'close to acquiring Weetabix'
- Kraft Heinz cuts jobs in US, Canada
- Recipe-kit firm HelloFresh launches into UK retail
- Mondelez set for union crosshairs next week
- UK, EU food faces "more costly" trade, warns study


text:
Twitter has been abuzz with news that of Valve confirming Half-Life 3 on its supposed website in the past hour or so. Unfortunately, we have to be the bearer of bad news – like all the other times beforehand, it is fake.
The website in question – valve.software – is not the official Valve website (it would be valvesoftware.com). It is a fake website that someone has created as a hoax, ripping off the existing Valve website and adding an image of Half-Life 3. What gave it away as a fake was that the website is hosted on Namecheap, according to the WHOIS record.
Interestingly enough, valve.software is the number one entry when you search “Valve Software” on Google.
Who created the hoax?
I thought finding the person who created the hoax would be very hard – the domain’s WHOIS record was protected using some service in Panama.
However, turns out, it was really easy. The person was tracking how many visits he was getting using his own Google Analytics code. We managed to find another website owned by the hoaxer by typing the organisation ID into Google.
TechGeek can reveal that the hoax was created by a person who goes by the name “Scratch” who is from Australia. We also have found his Steam profile that confirms he was the creator of the hoax.
EDIT: We have since removed some information about Scratch that was previously published. We have since been alerted that it is outdated.


text:
The current swathe of significant changes was launched in variation 4.0, one of its most significant upgrades given that the Bitcoin purse introduced in 2011. (Note: Since the 4.0 launch, some bug fixes have actually been included.)
Lightning payments are seen as the future of Bitcoin due to the fact that they’re less expensive and would certainly enable a lot more individuals to make bitcoin cryptocurrency transactions simultaneously.
Among the most preferred Bitcoin budgets, Electrum, now supports Lightning Network settlements.
This makes Electrum the earliest wallet to have actually adopted Lightning settlements up until now.
Lightning support in Electrum is a lengthy time coming. Lightning is quite challenging and also not without its problems yet eventually it is the most encouraging presently understood means of scaling Bitcoin. It additionally allows quick, economical as well as a lot more personal repayments,” pseudonymous Electrum developer SomberNight told CoinDesk in an email.
In order to support Lightning purchases, the developers actually composed an entirely brand-new application of the Lightning procedure “from the ground up,” SomberNight said, rather than using a prominent application, such as Lightning Labs’ LND or Blockstream’s c-lightning. That’s one factor the release took so long.
An Electrum watchtower
In addition to sustain for Lightning repayments, Electrum 4.0.2 currently supports a number of other innovations with this brand-new release that might use Lightning much more safe and also much less bumpy for customers.
For one, Electrum has applied its own Lightning watchtower, an important element of the Lightning Network, which checks the Bitcoin blockchain in order to prevent as well as identify fraudulence.
There are a couple of watchtower implementations out there currently, they still aren’t commonly made use of yet throughout the Lightning Network, in spite of being an essential item. In this method, Electrum’s watchtower support is a step toward a better Lightning Network.
There are “submarine swaps.” Approving repayments is still a challenging part of the Lightning Network due to the fact that customers require what’s called “incoming capacity” to get settlements, which indicates funds require to be put in a certain part of a person’s Lightning “channel,” which is type of like an account.
The irony is users “will certainly not be able to obtain settlements until they spend some cash,” as SomberNight put it.
” To solve this, we applied ‘submarine swaps,’ which are atomic exchanges of on-chain and also Lightning bitcoins,” SomberNight informed CoinDesk. In various other words, submarine swaps makes it possible to send regular bitcoin to a Lightning channel, providing one means for individuals to fill up their incoming capability.
” Electrum Technologies runs a main web server that assists in these swaps, for a cost. This enables individuals to purchase inbound capacity to be able to receive Lightning repayments,” the designer added.
Equipment support for Lightning
Electrum also integrated Lightning with equipment assistance. Since equipment purses store bitcoin offline past the reach of hackers they are thought about one of the ideal ways of protecting bitcoin.
Your Lightning equilibrium, while in networks, will certainly not be safeguarded by the equipment but all your on-chain equilibrium will be, as well as it’s very convenient to have a common single purse that you can utilize to pay both on-chain and also Lightning,” SomberNight told CoinDesk.
The newest swathe of major modifications was released in variation 4.0, one of its biggest upgrades because the Bitcoin budget launched in 2011. Lightning payments are seen as the future of Bitcoin due to the fact that they’re less expensive and also would permit numerous more customers to make bitcoin cryptocurrency transactions at when.
Lightning assistance in Electrum is a lengthy time coming. Lightning is quite difficult and also not without its problems yet ultimately it is the most promising presently recognized method of scaling Bitcoin. Your Lightning balance, while in networks, will not be protected by the equipment but all your on-chain balance will be, and it’s really hassle-free to have a shared solitary budget that you can utilize to pay both on-chain and also Lightning,” SomberNight told CoinDesk.


text:
The Automotive industry is currently undergoing unprecedented change, resulting in new challenges and new opportunities for companies in the automotive value chain in areas such as globalization, manufacturing competitiveness, green and connected vehicle technologies, supply chain management, talent management, enterprise risk, and mergers and acquisitions (M&A).
Deloitte’s Automotive practice lead in Poland by Marek Turczyński and Tomasz Pałka is at the forefront of these and other top trends and issues facing the automotive industry, helping our clients understand the impact to their organizations and delivering strategic, operational, and technical solutions designed to help automotive companies of all sizes meet their business objectives.
With more than 100 years of automotive industry experience worldwide and a cross-functional team providing audit, advisory, tax, consulting, and financial advisory services to a wide range of companies in the industry, including automotive and heavy equipment manufacturers, suppliers, dealers, captive finance companies, and aftermarket manufacturers, Deloitte has the insight companies seek in staying one step ahead.
The report: "Is this time to step up the gear?"
The annual report prepared by our experts specialized with automotive sector issues. In order to diagnose the current status of the automotive industry in Poland and its perspectives for the nearest future, we carried out another survey addressed only to representatives of the industry.


text:
SASKATOON, SK, Apr 3, 2006 (Canada NewsWire via COMTEX) -- Sangster's Health Centres, (a division of Planet Organic Health Corp.POH-TSX Venture Exchange), Canada's longest running health and nutrition franchise, has opened it's 48th store inside Regina's Gold's Gym.
Sangster's Health Centres has successfully opened another store inside a Gold's Gym in Regina, SK, bringing their quality products and industry knowledge together with fitness enthusiasts at the gym. "Sports Nutrition, Vitamin Supplements and a Smoothie Bar collectively cater to the Gold's Gym customer. Whether the customer is looking to build muscle, or just trying to maintain a healthy lifestyle, our store will satisfy their health needs," said Sangster's President Roy Sangster.
In addition to Sangster's sports nutrition and extensive vitamin supplements they have added a smoothie bar catering to the health and fitness industry. The opening of another Sangster's Health Centre in Regina, SK will strengthen Sangster's overall market exposure, helping to produce further increases to the company's revenues. This also enables the company to apply its proven management systems, marketing plans, and store designs to attract new customers and increase profitability.
About Planet Organic
Planet Organic Health Corp.(TSX-V:POH) is a natural products industry company, comprising manufacturing, distribution and retail. It operates 48 Sangster's Health Centre Stores, 5 Planet Organic Market Natural Food Supermarkets, and a vitamin manufacturing plant-Trophic Canada.


text:
Preview into Dubai’s ambitious Palm Island project at Hotel Show
A three billion dollar project to construct the world’s largest man-made islands in Dubai is one of the most ambitious tourism projects undertaken globally for the next decade. The Palm development project, on reclaimed land off Dubai’s Arabian Gulf coastline, is creating two distinct palm-shaped islands, The Palm Jumeirah and The Palm Jebel Ali, both linked to the mainland.
With an emphasis on quality lifestyle for its residents, it will also incorporate a major tourism element in its concept and design. This element will be characterized by a mix of marinas, hotels, shopping malls, a golf course, cinemas, themed attractions, including a marine park featuring dolphins and killer whales, and a futuristic monorail.
At The Hotel Show 2002, to be held at Airport Export Dubai, May 20-22, international hotel industry’s providers will be exposed to the service provision possibilities of the Palm development project, which includes up to 89 hotels. “The Palm will form a major feature at this year’s exhibition,” said Joanne Evans, director of the exhibition organizers, Streamline Marketing.
Running alongside it will be a two-day conference tackling challenges facing the Middle East hotel industry. The Hotel Show was last year acquired by dmg World Media, a subsidiary of FTSE100 company, The Daily Mail & General Trust. — (menareport.com)
© 2002 Mena Report (www.menareport.com)
- Al Sharq signs-up starwood to operate W Dubai-the Palm
- Dubai plans to break firework record as Vanilla Ice fans break dance the NYE night away
- Dubai’s palm Island to draw inward investment and stiffer competition
- Global golf and lifestyle broadcaster: A whale of a challenge for re-brand-ingTM
- Emirates Neon Targets Hotel Show in drive to increase regional signage market share


text:
The media and political buzz surrounding so-called 'homeshare' or 'short-term rental' websites (primarily Airbnb, but also other similar services like Homeaway.com and VRBO.com, just to name two) has been on the upswing over the last year or so. It sounds like a perfect arrangement; You go on vacation, and rent out your home while you’re gone—you get a house sitter who pays real money, instead of the other way round.
Or, you stay home, and rent out your spare room—making a few hundred (or even a few thousand) dollars without doing anything more than washing your extra set of sheets and wiping down the counters. It’s all part of a growing trend called homesharing, which is taking so-called 'destination cities' by storm.
An Ideal Idea?
Homesharing is especially popular—and controversial—in major cities like Boston and New York, where rents are ridiculously high. In Beantown, for example, you can rent everything from a luxurious penthouse apartment complete with a private roof deck and Jacuzzi in the North End of Boston for $200 a night to your basic comfy couch in a room in Somerville for $30 bucks a night. Indeed, for renters and for those doing the renting, when it comes to homesharing, the sky's the limit in terms of what you can get for your money, and how much cash you can make.
But while thousands of apartment owners in cities like Chicago, New York, Boston and San Francisco love being able to monetize their units by renting an extra bedroom (or even their whole place, if they're out of town) to a visitor or tourist, condo and HOA boards and management are typically less enthused about the trend. A constant stream of non-resident visitors raises security concerns, adds wear-and-tear to common areas, and complicates the enforcement of house rules. Depending on the city, short-term rentals may also run afoul of zoning and hospitality laws.
Homeshare History...and the Law
The biggest player currently in the homesharing game is without question San Francisco-based Airbnb Inc. Founded in 2008, the service allows anyone to list their house, condo, spare room, couch, boat, treehouse or any other living area for short-term rental. More than 9 million people in 34,000 cities have checked out Airbnb—with more than 500,000 listings across the world—so this trend is certainly not shrinking or going away.
In fact, according to the company, on December 31st, Airbnb had its biggest night in history of the company, with nearly 550,000 travelers using the company to stay in more than 190 countries. Of those, 91,000 were guests using Airbnb for the first time, and 22,000 hosts were new, too. That’s compared with five years ago, when only 2,000 people used Airbnb on New Year’s Eve.
According to Braintree, Massachusetts-based Marcus, Errico, Emmer & Brooks’ attorneys Mark Einhorn, Matthew Gaines and Alex Levine, Internet-based services like Airbnb can create a firestorm of problems for association boards, management, and homeowners alike. They recently received a number of phone calls seeking advice on the issue.
“Local and state governments are also grappling with the questions raised by transient uses of residential properties,” the attorneys wrote in a recent column. “Like association boards, government officials are trying to balance competing interests: On one side, homeowners want to rent their properties and governments want to encourage innovative businesses (and collect tax revenue from them); on the other, neighborhood residents find strangers in their midst uncomfortable. As one New Yorker explained to the New York Post: “When you come home at night, you don’t know if you’ve got a trick, a poker game or a cocaine deal going on next door.”
Like many communities, Boston is trying to decide how, if at all, to regulate owners who are renting their homes, or rooms in their homes, like hotel rooms. The Massachusetts Department of Health and Human Services has suggested, the attorneys said, that they should be regulated like bed and breakfasts and required to pay an annual fee. But Boston’s Director of Inspectional Services issued a memo in the fall of 2014 directing his staff to take no action against owners who fail to register until city officials determine “how these services fit within our existing zoning and permitting definitions and whether new or amended regulations are warranted to address these specific arrangements.”
Popular...But Not Really OK
Legal or illegal, several courts have weighed in on the issue with varying results, the attorneys said. But as far as condos go, transient uses are forbidden. “Many condominium documents either specifically prohibit transient uses or establish minimum rental termsâ€•6-to-12 month minimums are common. If the community’s documents don’t contain this provision (and many do not), one obvious solution is to have owners approve a master deed or bylaw amendment adding it. We suggest establishing a minimum rental period of no less than 30 days. You might also specify that owners must rent their entire unit, not just portions of it. This would preclude an owner with a three–bedroom unit from renting the two extra rooms to paying overnight guests,” the MEEB attorneys said in their column.
If homesharers get caught, the penalties may be severe, including fines and possible evictions.
The popularity of homesharing is matched only by backlash against it. Last year, illegal hotel complaintsâ€•like Airbnb and other short-term rental places—increased 62 percent. Still, it’s all about the money, and Airbnb is big business. Take New York City, for example. A report from New York State Attorney General Eric Schneiderman found that 6 percent of the hosts were responsible for 36 percent of private bookings that were worth a whopping $168 million—or 37 percent of the revenue.
And many of the listings proved to be illegal as well. Schneiderman found that as many as 72 percent of Airbnb reservations are illegal. And that illegality extended to the courtroom. In January of this year, a New York City housing court judge evicted a rent-stabilized tenant for using Airbnb to profit off of his rental while he and his family were living elsewhere. It is the first recorded case of someone being evicted for using the service.
It doesn’t look like they’ll stop any time soon but the government is catching on.
Up until February 15th of this year, Airbnb was blamed for not collecting hotel taxes from many of its hosts–and for essentially allowing its members to use their apartments as ad hoc hotels, taking away business from real, legal hotel businesses. Last year, Airbnb began collecting taxes in San Francisco, Portland and California, and they’re extending the practice to more cities, including Chicago and Washington.
Legal or not, lots of people are using Airbnb and similar vacation rental services, regardless of whether or not they own their own building, own their own unit or just rent.
Most are doing it because this is such a lucrative and seemingly easy way of making money.
Nevertheless, people are still probably taking a risk. Buildings often permit 30-day leases, but doesn’t allow anything shorter than that. However, short of checking everyone who enters the building, it’s difficult to discern whether someone is using Airbnb.
“No one would advertise it, so you would never know,” says one attorney. “It probably has happened here, but who knows?”
Most property managers say that they don’t allow homesharing or short-term leasing, but that in small buildings, it’s very hard to tell whether someone is doing it. One manager spells it out plainly: by renting out their unit—whether condo, co-op, or rental—or even just a bedroom via Airbnb or some other homesharing company, a resident can potentially cover their rent or common charges, and make a tidy profit as well. That’s why the concept is so successful, and that’s why so many New Englanders are willing to take such a huge risk by letting strangers live with them, or occupy their home in the host’s absence.
If You Insist…
Manhattan real estate attorney Adam Leitman Bailey says that there are a few ways to stop homesharing in your building community if you don’t want it to occur. If you see people constantly coming in and out of a given apartment with suitcases, then that’s a sure sign that the owner or legal tenant is renting via a homesharing company.
“If you’re on a board and want to stop Airbnb, you should stop people from going upstairs,” Bailey continues. “Don’t let strangers go into the building unless the owner is there.” Bailey does admit that “If they say they’re a cousin or an uncle, however, it gets a little fuzzier.”
The MEEB attorneys agree with Bailey about short-circuiting the issue or by strictly enforcing your current rules. “If your association can’t prohibit short-term rentals, or chooses not to do so, you should manage them as you do rentals of any kind: that is to say, by making the unit owners responsible for any problems created by their “guests” or tenants. If tenants disturb other residents or violate the association’s rules in any way, insist that unit owners deal with the problems, and fine owners who fail to do so. Substantial (and repeated) fines combined with the disapproval of their neighbors may make the ‘my-house-is-a-hotel’ business less profitable for owners—and considerably less appealing for them.”
Undesirable as homesharing may be for a condo or co-op building, the reasons why owners participate in it can be just as serious. Perhaps the person doing the renting is desperate because they’ve lost their job, or just had some other huge or unexpected expense.
“They’re unable to pay their bills, and homesharing allows them to pay their mortgage,” Bailey says.
In some very expensive cities around the country, that’s very compelling. But the last reason to forbid homesharing in a co-op or a condo, and to eschew the practice as an owner, is that on top of the possible $1,000-a-day fine, the person renting out their apartment can get evicted and foreclosed because they could be violating terms of their lease, Bailey says. “I have tons of cases like this,” he says. “It’s huge.”
And it’s not going away anytime soon.
Danielle Braff is a Chicago-based freelance writer and a frequent contributor to New England Condominium.